A Kiss Goodbye
by KingNORTH2017
Summary: A twisted tale of the Corpse Bride of tragedy, romance, and a slowly decaying heart of Victor. A retelling and re imagining of the story of Corpse Bride, where Victor and Emily have the ultimate choice to make together. And Victor will have to decide, Emily or Victoria? SIDE NOTE - Those who have never seen the movie: you can still read this and it makes sense!
1. I

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, this is a fanfiction that randomly I thought of when watching the movie. I found that it seemed to be thoughtful in the two ways. One, the type of story that made sense more to me and two: FAN SERVICE MY FRIENDS. So please enjoy my fanfiction about Emily and Victor! Oh, by the way, I do not own The Corpse Bride, it belongs to a great director, Tim Burton, nor do I own any rights to the characters produced in the movie.

The wind blew, cool and crisp, as a lone leaf began to catch up with all the others being stirred around in the air. A swirl of orange and brown flowed where the wind told it to. One flew past an open window and as it did Victor looked out his window and noticed the lone leaf struggling to catch up with the others in the wind. He sighed, looking back down at his desk, scattered drawings carelessly placed and a glass jar with a blue butterfly within. He opened the jar, releasing the butterfly to let it soar through the sky and join the leaves soaring on the wind.

"Victor!" His mother shouted. He looked toward the door knowing his mother would be there in but a moment. He could hear her heavy footsteps thundering through the house as she came up the stairs. The door swung open to reveal an overweight woman, his mother, gesturing with the small cane at her side. "Quit sitting there and begin preparing yourself for this big day!" His mother demanded.

Victor stood at his mother's command and let out a small sigh which sounded vaguely uncomfortable. He walked past his mother, having to squeezing past her just so he could exit his room.

 _'Why must I be the one to do this? I have no choice, and yet I feel I'm obligated to say I can't.'_ Victor thought. Before he could think anything else though, hands were suddenly pushing against his back urging him down the stairs. He sighed, letting the hands guid him down the stairs just to be greeted by his elderly father at the bottom.

"Congratulations-" His father paused. Coughing filled the room as his father tried not to hack up a lung. It was wet and wheezy sounding, shaking the old man's frame. It didn't stop till he took a long, deep breath in. He breathed out and then looked back at Victor. "- on the wedding."

"Thank you father; I'm pleased to have made you proud." Victor lied.

Victor walked past his father and into the foyer. He opened the door, paused for a moment, loosed another miserable sigh and walked on. His nostrils were filled with smoke which caused his lungs to ache and his nose to burn. He coughed, gagging on the excessive amount of smoke in the air, all of it coming from the man sitting in the carriage driver's seat.

"Mayhew! Put out that blasted pipe!" His mother exclaimed. Mayhew, the carriage driver, went into a coughing fit at that moment, releasing a plume of smoke from his lungs into the air, as he dumped the rest of his pipe out over the side of the carriage

seat. Victor snickered at Mayhew's ineffective way of disposing of such a thing. Once again, he felt hands to his back and he was being shoved along into the carriage. "Victor we're running late due to your laziness!" His mother shouted. His mother turned back around and he shouts from outside the carriage door for his father to come along. He ducked his head as his mother squeezed in, the skirts of her dress nearly hitting him in the face. Once his mother sat down across from him, his father got in and sat silently beside his wife.

"Mother, father… why must-" Victor began to say before he was cut off.

"Why must you wed at such a shanty old church? I reckon I have no clue Victor. We will abide by the Everglots standards of this binding!" His mother exclaimed although she looked displeased by this fact, if only because she didn't like the church that was to be used for the wedding. Victor put his head back down unable to get to his point.

There was a yank from the horses at the carriage and the carriage was off, heading at a steady pace toward town square. A tiny tear began to form in Victor's eye. He was careful to hide it from his parents. The drop fell and landed on the tip of his shined shoes.

The carriage moved on and Mayhew let out small coughs along the way. At the same time, his mother would knock her cane heavily on the carriage ceiling, making the coughing stop for a few seconds. Victor let out a small chuckle as the coughs would come back after each knock.

"You know Victor, if you treat a lady with the same disrespect as you do me, you will never produce children." His mother stated. Victor looked out the window, saying nothing while on the inside he felt slightly sick at the thought of having to produce children. Outside the carriage he saw nothing but poor beggars on the street and people starring as the carriage rolled on down to the home of the Everglots. The carriage came to a halt, making everyone lurch forward in their seats.

"MAYHEW! Are you TRYING to kill us!?" his mother exclaimed.

Victor was the first to exit the carriage, stepping to the side to let his mother and father exist and stand beside him. The doors to the house in front of them seemed to know that they had arrived because the swung open to reveal the gloom of the front room and a butler who was waiting for them all. His nose was pointed up in the air and his mustache was curved upwards in an exaggerated angel.

"Welcome, Van Dorts, the Everglots are waiting for you upstairs in the smoking room." The butler explained.

"Splendid, we'll go right up then." Mrs. Van Dort replied, gripping her husband's arm.

The two eager parents walked in and followed the butler upstairs, leaving Victor in the doorway completely forgotten. He sighed and walked in, almost feeling uninvited and unwelcome by the household. His eyes gazed around the room in astonishment and awe. The room was grand, if a little dusty and gloomy. It looked like it was hardly used for anything at all. His admiration of the room halted when beautifully crafted piano came into view and what felt like the first time since he learned he was to marry a genuine smile spread across his face. A sense of wonderment filled his heart which caused him to be draw toward the instrument. He walked over to the piano bench, lifted the back of his suit jacket as to not sit on it and sat down. Admiring the complexity of the piano itself, he flicked a key and shut his eyes. That first note played appealed to him, causing his heart to fill with joy so he continued to play on. The sounds of the piano filled the room and echoed through the halls of the Everglot house, causing Victor to smile even wider at the sounds played with each other, bouncing off the walls and floor and ceiling, filling the gloomy space with joyous music.

Victor, when he played the piano, imagined himself to be in a land where nothing could bother him. This wasn't the land of mystery, of forced marriages and unhappily ever after but rather the land of opportunity. He mind often wandered, images of himself sitting in a meadow of dandelions and green grass far as the eye can see. He imagined the smell of the flowers and being able to draw butterflies of all variations of color and size whenever he wished. Trees and the sunset on the horizon beyond him. He often wondered, in that world he created for himself, what if he wasn't alone? What if somebody was to come up and sit next to him and say-

"Excuse me?"

Victor jumped, his nerves being ignited in panic at having been caught off guard. His eyes opened up wide and he let out a little yelp as the chair fell over. His arm swung out and hit vase that had been sitting on the piano as he righted himself, almost knocking it over and onto the floor where it would have shattered. Luckily, he could catch it before it could contact the floor and set it back down, turning to focus on the gentlemen who interrupted him.

"Who are you?" The man asked.

"I… I am V-Victor Van Dort." Victor explained to the man with a slight stutter.

The man chuckled at the name and raised his chin as he walked toward him. Victor's eyes stopped following the mysterious man instead looking back down at the keys of the piano. The man's voice was full of confidence, perhaps too much confidence.

"Van Dort? What kind of name is that good sir?" The man asked in a curious tone of voice. Victor's eyebrows went up in confusion and a sense of annoyance crept into him. The man let out a laugh that echoed through the room. He put a hand on Victor's shoulder and pretended to wipe away a tear as if he had been laughing so hard at what he had said that his eyes had teared up.

"My boy, I'm joking with you! My name is Lord Barkis, I mean what kind of name is that?" Lord Barkis asked with a chuckle.

Victor's expression never changed and he looked down at Barkis's hand on his shoulder. His eyes squinted as Barkis's hand slowly drifted off his shoulder. Victor scrubbed at the spot the hand had been and straightened his jacket going to stand up when a voice rang out.

"Oh my. I can see you two have met." A steady voice from the top of the stairs said.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Oh, I bet you all just hate me now for leaving Cliffhangers like that! Ha! I just love

it though. I hope you all liked it and please feel free to review, follow, favorite, or don't do a thing :D. I

hope you all keep reading this fanfiction because… ahem, it's got something that the movie doesn't :o.


	2. II

AUTHOR'S NOTE – I hope that this story isn't boring so far, because you know you must set up it all and that takes a bit of time for the reader and AHEM the writer. So please enjoy the second chapter to this wonderful Fanfic, and please review and follow if you're hungry for more. So anyway, I don't own the Corpse Bride, characters or story.

Victor watched as the woman made her way down the stairs, the heels of her shoes clicking against the floor. Her elegant stride made Victor go cold, colder than he had ever been before and there was no explanation as to why. The woman reached the bottom of the staircase, her shoes making one final click against the floor as she stopped, her eyes glues to Victor who was still by the piano.

"My, my, you must be…" She started before she was rudely cut off. "This is Victor van Dort, my dear." Lord Barkis said. She looked over at him, his chin still raised as if he were better then everyone in the room. Barkis squinted at the woman and Victor saw, to his shock, that she looked angry with him. Her mouth pressed into a thin line and Barkis chuckled at her, as if her anger amused him.

"I don't believe I was talking to you Lord Barkis, I was talking to Victor. In fact, why don't you give us time to talk." She ordered.

Lord Barkis snickered and raised his chin even higher in the air turning toward Victor. Victor forced a small smile toward the older man and extended his hand. Lord Barkis took it in his own and the two men shook hands

"It was a pleasure meeting you sir." Lord Barkis said before leaving to another room, leaving Victor and the woman alone.

When Barkis left the room, the woman turned her attention back to Victor and smiled slightly. She raised her hand, palm facing the floor, signifying Victor was to cup her fingers in his own hand and bow slightly, kissing the back of her hand gently before letting go but as soon as he felt the warmth of her skin against his, all thoughts flew from his mind and he began to shake with nervousness.

"Such a shaky hand, but steady play finger." She observed.

"Y-yes, I ap-apologize if I wasn't supposed to play…" Victor trailed off.

The girl walked past Victor to the piano and touched a key, letting out a little giggle that made Victor blush. The girl walked back around Victor to face him once again being as he seemed rooted in place.

"I've never been allowed to play; mother says that I'm a lady so I must focus entirely on my soon to be husband." She explained looking sad.

Victor realized that he had no idea what this lovely woman's name was. He smiled and looked back at the piano a plane forming in his mind. He looked back at the woman and saw she had a very similar look on her face that he himself made when looking at the instrument

"I forgot to ask you, what is your name?" Victor questioned

"Victoria." She replied.

He took Victoria's hand and led her to the seat of the piano and sat down beside her. Again he made sure the back of his jacket hung over the back of the seat and he stretched his agile fingers. The tips of his fingers rested on the keys and he closed his eyes. The first note rang through the room calling to him to play more but he opened his eyes and looked at Victoria and saw she was blushing slightly, which caused him to blush in turn.

"W-when, a pianist strikes a key, it's note. The note is w... what make t... the music. What m... makes the song" Victor nervously explained.

Victoria put her hands on the keys of the piano and pressed down on one, a note ringing out which caused her to blush again. Victor smiled slightly a this and trying to force himself to get over his nervousness, he went back to explaining how the instrument and music playing worked.

"Hit these three keys in order, f... from left to right." Victor explained showing her what he meant.

Victoria did what he told her and she began to play the keys in a rhythm. Victor smiled as he watched Victoria's concentration go to the three keys on the board. Slowly, Victor began to play on his end of the piano and a harmony began filling the room like a soft wind blowing through an open window in summer. Victor closed his eyes and imagined the meadow, the soft green grass sweeping up the hills, flowers dancing in a soft breeze. He began to imagine Victoria was running through the meadow with him, sitting beside him beneath a tree in the shade, enjoying the fresh air while the breeze brushed against their faces.

Victoria's hands slid along the piano, the notes getting higher and higher. Victor didn't notice for he was lost in his own little world. The pitch grew louder and softer as the two's hands crossed together. Victor stopped playing and opened his eyes looking toward Victoria, who was smiling.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist." Victoria said sheepishly.

"Don't be, it needed a higher pitch anyway." Victor said laughing.

The piano lesson suddenly halted as a loud, vicious voice screamed into the room from the top of the stairs.

"VICTORIA! How dare you! How dare you defy my very order of NEVER going near that drastic instrument! I told you, you DON'T PLAY!" The voice screeched. It sounded like nails being dragged across a chalk board.

Victor looked up and noticed that Victoria had left his side, going to walk up the stairs, not even bothering to look back at him. He heard mumbling from upstairs, but couldn't tell what they were saying. He stood up from the bench and wiped his hands on the back of his pants to make sure there wasn't any dust. He looked up toward the top of the stairs to see Lord Barkis standing there by another man, the one who must have yelled at Victoria. Barkis walked back into the gloom of the house to where ever he had been previously leavening the man to stand there alone.

Victor shook his head surveying the small fat man with a cigar in his mouth that had walked down the stairs. He had to look down at him to see him and took a step back as the man had come a little too close for comfort

"You must be the Van Dort boy, aren't you?" The man asked.

"Y-yes sir." Victor replied.

"Hm, you look awfully skinny and pale my boy and you don't even seem to have a neck! You're no Barkis, but you are a Van Dort so you must have some values in your pocket, no?" The man asked.

Victor gulped and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. The only thing he could think to do was to shrug and reply.

"I have a few s-savings." Victor regrettably replied.

The small, fat man looked a little surprised. He turned around and started walking toward another room across from them that seemed to be some sort of dining area. He turned his head, his pudgy neck overflowing the collar of his shirt and gestured for Victor to follow him. He had no choice but to follow and with shuffling footsteps he did so, when he entered the room he was taken aback by the complexity of it. He almost bumped into the man he had been following because he had stopped halfway into the room.

"My boy, you are young and my daughter is young, but I'm not wanting someone who is too scatter brained to marry my daughter and have no children. So, I have proclaimed that Barkis is to wed Victoria for the common good of our household." Mr. Everglot explained.

"Oh… I see…" Victor trailed off.

"However! You give up so easy on what seems to be in your favor." Mr. Everglot proclaimed.

"What?" Victor asked.

"Victoria's takes a liking to you Vincent… ahem I mean Victor, so you must prove to her that you are the one to marry her instead of Barkis." Mr. Everglot explained to him.

Victor began to smile and he heard a slow clacking of heels behind him. At first, he thought it was Victoria, but Victoria didn't have hair that looked as if it would hit the ceiling if it was any taller. Instead, what looked like a mythical monster that Victor had read in one of his books entered the room. It was a woman with hair that stood higher than the entrance of the dining area.

"My husband is right! My favor is in Barkis, however Victoria doesn't seem to believe that he will make a fine husband, so she believes you will, purely inconvenient!" The woman shouted.

Victor looked at the two Everglots and tried to smile, however their expressions began to send chills down his back and the hairs on his neck to stand on end. They only glared harder at him and that made the feeling even worse. Thoughts began to circulate through his head about what these people could possibly to do him if he messed up their plans.

' _How will I make a better husband than that high class jerk? There's no way, it's hopeless. Well at least Victoria doesn't look like the parents.'_ Victor thought glancing at the two.

"We all are going over to the church now to practice the vows, there we will determine just who will make the better husband for our Victoria." Mr. Everglot stated.

"Indeed _._ " Mrs. Everglot said.

They both slowly made their way out of the dining area and into the foyer. He saw his parents begin to make their way over to him and he forced a small smile for them.

"Quit smiling so much, you need to be gentlemen like!" His mother said dusting off his shoulders.

"Mother, father, do you think I would make a good husband?" Victor asked.

The two looked a bit shocked and stared at Victor as if trying to process what he had asked. Victor stared at his father, who was shaking and trying to think of what the best thing to say was. Victor glanced over at his mother, who was tapping her foot and staring up at the ceiling.

"I… I think we should just go to the church." Victor said and his parents looked relieved to not have to answer the question.

Victor followed behind everyone else out the door, glancing up and noticing Victoria was being escorted by Lord Barkis, who was smiling and talking despite the fact the young woman on his arm looked uncomfortable. Victor shook his head making it out the front door and over to his family's carriage where Mayhew still sat in the driver's seat.

"Ah, Mr. Victor. How was the stay?" Mayhew asked.

"Fine Mayhew." Victor replied.

"Is there something wrong sir?" Mayhew questioned.

Victor looked at the old carriage driver, who had a pipe in his mouth and was puffing out smoke. He looked into his eyes, but nothing was there but the signs of old age.

"Mayhew, would I make a good husband?" Victor curiously asked.

At first Victor regretted it because Mayhews head began to droop toward the ground, obviously about to fall asleep. Victor sighed and reached for the handle of the carriage to get in when suddenly Mayhew put his hand on his shoulder.

"Oh Mr. Victor, I've been your carriage driver for years now, I've watched you grow into the young man you are now and nothing would compel me more to say, you would." Mayhew said, silent coughs making his voice raspy as he answered.

"Thank you." Victor said before giving Mayhew a pat on the shoulder.

Victor entered the carriage and slowly more positive thoughts began to fill his head and a genuine smile spread across his face. _'Maybe I would make a good husband, after all Victoria is in my favor as I am to her. Maybe, I could be her husband, and she'd be Victoria van Dort…'_ Victor's thought.

As his parents entered the carriage, he tried to calm his thoughts and slowly the carriage began to move. His mother shouted from inside the carriage for Mayhew to silence the coughs and to put out the pipe. But all Victor could hear was the thought of Victoria with her soft voice saying "I do".

AUTHOR'S NOTE – Wow, that took a little bit of time, because I had to watch the movie A LOT to know how to change it and how to develop the characters… but you don't want to know that, instead GO REVIEW AND FOLLOW, if you're hungry for more. Plus I love feedback. :D Bad or Good ;D. OH BTW, Please I want to make a suggestion, If you have seen the movie, GREAT! If you haven't seen the movie, GREAT AS WELL! This fanfiction so far is just a parody and a remaking of the story to reshape how the character's act and so forth. However, those of you that have watched the movie, REVIEW ABOUT IT, tell me if you like this version better or the movie and if so on both parts, what would you like to the see the most out of the ending? REVIEW, FOLLOW, FAVORITE, or do nothing! :D


	3. III

AUTHOR'S NOTE – Let's get business over with first: I don't own Corpse Bride, it's awesome characters, it's amazing story or any of it. Now, I'll tell you that you should REVIEW AND LIKE this story because this chapter took me a long time to write so ;D. Anyways I hope you all enjoy.

The day passed on and before anyone knew it, it was late noon. The shadow of the large church began to stretch through the town. The sunlight was streaming through the windows and the priest was getting more impatient by the second.

"Now let's try this again, Master Van Dort." The priest said yet again. Victor drew in a deep breath and turned back to Victoria, looking at the items on the table. Two candles that were close together, a cup that shined in the sunlight and a white silk cloth. Victor picked up his candle, as did Victoria.

"Right hand, Master Van Dort." The priest commanded. "Right?" Victor asked.

A realization flashed through Victor's mind as he saw it was in his left hand instead of right and he fumbled, making the candle spin in the air as he tried to correct his mistake causing it to almost fall to the ground. A murmur of voices filled the room, making Victors nervousness even worse. The candle now in his right hand, his heart jumped in his chest as the priest glared at him.

"Now, repeat from the book, these vows are the traditional sayings of a binding of two. With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never empty for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way through darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine. Repeat those vows for this traditional wedding." The priest read.

Victor looked to his candle and tried to light it to the main candle on the table. His candle sparked but refused to light. Victor took a breath in and put the stub back up to the candle and watched as the wick ignited. He smiled and put the candle up next to Victoria's. He cleared his throat.

"With this candle- "he stated. "With this HAND!" The priest exclaimed. "Oh, right, with this h-hand." Victor corrected. The silence of the church chapel caused Victor to have goosebumps. The priest cleared his throat and waved his hand to Victor.

"Yes, with this… h-ring- "Victor said.

"MASTER VAN DORT! Do you need to hear the vows again?" The priest asked.

"No, of course not." Victor replied.

Victor looked down to the table and then back to his candle, taking in a breath. His exhale extended toward his candle, making the flame die out. Muttering of voices came throughout Van Dorts and the Everglots. Victor looked to see his parents beginning to tap their feet and twiddle their fingers. His eyes cut a glance over to the Everglots, noticing that Mr. Everglot was checking his pocket watch and Mrs. Everglots eye began to twitch.

"KEEP GOING." The priest commanded, his voice booming out in the echoes of the church.

"So, with this hand, I ask you to be my wine- "Victor incorrectly phrased.

"MASTER VAN DORT, do you not wish to marry this young woman? If you wish, then you must get these blessed vows CORRECT." The priest explained in an exasperated tone.

Victoria leaned over and re lit his candle without him looking and so the rehearsal continued. Victor cleared his throat again and tried to clear the thoughts from his head.

"With this hand, I will lift your… your… darkness. No, I will lift you out of darkness." Victor again incorrectly phrased.

"Boy, step aside." Mr. Everglot said from behind.

Victor turned around to see Lord Barkis standing behind him near the altar. His smile was as crooked as a twisted tree branch. His eyes the color of steel and his chin raised in the air once again, making him look arrogant

"Please, Mr. Everglot, give just one more chance sir." Victor pleaded.

"Boy, we have given you took many chances as is." Mr. Everglot replied.

The priest muffled a few solemn words to himself as Victor let Lord Barkis take his place by Victoria. She looked back at Victor and shook her head and smiled at Lord Barkis. Victor gulped and gave his candle to Lord Barkis, who shot him a look. Victor walked out of the church and into the courtyard. He sighed and walked to the edge of town, nearing a bridge that lead into the woods. He looked back to see that his parents didn't follow, so he trudged on. He looked at his ring and shook his head, putting it back into his right pocket. He walked onto the bridge and looked out at nothing in particular.

"Why must I make things difficult? I mean, things just can't get any worse." Victor told himself. He walked on down and tried to remember the vows that Pastor Galswells had told him to remember. Victor took in a breath and began reciting the vows aloud.

"With this ring, I will lift your sorrows… no." Victor told himself. He walked off the bridge and into the woods without even realizing it. Victor's footsteps were carpeted by snow and leaves in his path, but he was focused on saying his vows.

"With this hand, I will cup your… Oh goodness no." Victor said shaking his head.

His path leads him to an old oak tree and he stopped before it. He kept on trying to at least say a right verse within his mind and say it aloud but nothing was working the way he wanted it to.

"With this hand, I ask you… no. With this ring, I will… no. With this candle, your… your darkness will never… what's the point"? Victor asked himself miserably

He sat down in frustration and put his face to his hand, smoothing his hair to the right side. He dug his ring out again and studied it, imagining what it would have looked like on Victoria's finger. He took a big breath in and stood, now determined.

"I will not let a man like Barkis, take away a woman like you!" Victor exclaimed. "With this hand, I will lift your sorrows. Your cup, may never empty for I will be your wine."

Victor looked around and grasped a tree branch to use a candle. Smiling, he broke the branch off and held it up to another smaller branch. "With this candle I will light your way through darkness." He threw the makeshift candle to the side and saw a twig sticking up and he reached down. "With this ring, I- "Victor stopped. He thought of a different phrase, thinking untraditionally and smiled. "With this ring, I ask you to be mine forever through life and death." Victor finished slipping the ring onto the twig. The twig wobbled and he smiled as he had finished his vows and they sounded perfect.

The wind began to blow to the point of howling and he looked around noticing all the ravens that had suddenly appeared in the trees. He frowned as he heard their talons on the branches and suddenly there was a loud cracking sound, only it wasn't from the ever growing ravens, rather from the ground beneath. A tight hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward the ground. He gasped as the force from hitting the ground knocked the wind out of him. He groaned and realized that the hand still gripped his wrist, so he pulled back and realized that it was all bone. He pulled harder trying to get it to let him go. Finally, he was let loose, and the force of him pulling away flung him back a few feet, landing at the base of another tree. He lifted his arm to see the hand still wrapped tightly around his wrist, his ring glittering on its finger and its forearm still attached. In fear and disgust, he shook the arm off and tried to stand but fell back as a mini quake rocked the ground.

The ground began to crack apart and heave where the hand had come up and slowly another hand came out and clawed at the ground. The skin on the hand and arm was a dark blue with little bits of lighter blues mixed in, and it looked like it was scared. As Victor watched in horror, he saw a figure began to rise out of the ground, dirt and snow being displaced as it rose. His jaw dropped and his senses shut off, as the figure stood, wearing a wedding gown and veil which was draped in front of her face.

He studied her with intent, trying to find an answer for what had just happened, but all he could really think about was how afraid he was. The moonlight shined through the exposed part of her ribcage and sprouted her.

Her eyes widened as her veil drifted up and over her head landing gently against her back, and Victor tried to crawl backwards. Her head tilted and her lips cracked into a smile, her right cheek bone being exposed through a tear in her blue tinted skin. A soft voice came from the corpse standing before him and what it said chilled him to the bone.

"I do." She said.

Without warning, the corpse bride began to slowly move forward, extending her still connected right arm towards Victor. Victor stood up and backed into a gravestone, falling over the thing. He looked over it and saw that she was still walking toward him. He turned his back to her and bolted into the cover of the trees, the moonlight lighting his way. He glanced back to see that the dead woman was still following him and he turned back to keep running but ran face first into a tree. He let out a cry of pain and felt his nose and eye throb in pain. He covered his eye and focused his other eye to notice the blue skinned monstrosity approaching him, now with her left arm intact.

Without thinking, he ran into the tree again then went around it. He kept on running and lost his balance on a hill and stumbled. His legs buckled and he landed near another gravestone. His head hit the stone and a lump started to from, but it was nothing compared to what could happen if she had caught up to him. So he looked back to see fog rolling down from the upper hill, followed by the corpse. He stood once more and kept on running from the dead woman.

He came across the frozen river and almost fell as he tried to run across the ice. His feet kept on running, but he stayed in the same place despite his efforts. Victor looked back to see that she was still walking toward him, arms extended and a blank faced smile that caused goosebumps to cover his skin and shudder to work its way down his spine. Finally, realizing that he'd get nowhere on the ice he hopped back onto the snowy ground and ran faster than he ever had before. His breath filled the midnight air as he came across the bridge at last. Twigs from the trees were all that stood between him and the bridge and he ran through them. They tore at his jacket and a piece clung to one of the thicker branches. He kept running and heard the rip as the branch took a piece of his jacket. He sprinted on, leaving the piece of cloth and stitching behind him on the branches. His jacket was the least of his worries, as he ran on towards the bridge.

The calls of ravens came from behind him and he yelled out as they flew out at him, surrounding him and the bridge. He ducked and closed his eyes, praying they all would just leave him alone. With that thought in his mind, he opened his eyes and suddenly everything was silent. He looked around to see that all the ravens had disappeared and the corpse was gone. His fear continued however and he gulped, looking back into the woods to be sure that he had not be followed to his sanctuary. Victor let out a sigh of relief and turned around just to come face to face with the corpse bride.

He let out a shriek as her blank face again stretched into a hideous smile. He tried to run again but was blocked by a circle of ravens forming around the bride and himself. He looked for any kind of way out but only found a circle of black forming. He gulped as the bride moved closer to him. His hands reached back to the bridge cobblestone and he just watched the harbinger of death approach.

"Please! I'm sorry I disturbed you! Don't hurt- "Victor tried to explain in his panicked state of mind.

"You may kiss the bride." The corpse replied.

Victor's eyes widened as the corpse's hand went on his shoulders and her eyes closed, puckering her cold blue lips. Slowly her head moved forward and all at once, the raven squalled and forced the two together and Victor's lively lips touched the lips of a corpse bride. All Victor could feel was a breath of cold winter's day engage his soul and a blistering pain entered his chest.

AUTHOR'S NOTE – Whew, that took a bit longer than I expected but what can you say, that is the writing and editing process. Which I have to think one of my best friends in the world for she is the editor of this "masterpiece". Her user is Kittenw21, her name is going to be nameless for privacy reasons of course! :D. In fact, she has helped me through writing and editing so much that we basically have become a writing duo :D. To help us even farther: Review, Favorite, Follow, READ MORE :D. Just remember, there's more to come… eventually; D.


	4. IV

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just a note here: I DON'T OWN THIS SONG: The Remains of the Day.

This is a great song by Danny Elfman. Anyways, I hope you like the next chapter in this exciting

Fanfiction that is a lot harder to write than I originally thought mainly because I'm focusing on

Victor's perspective rather multiples.

Victor began to regain consciousness, his heart sending his blood flowing through his veins. His breath was shallow and he was muttering but he couldn't get out what he was trying to say. His mouth worked on trying to form words but his tongue felt leaden in his mouth, which made speaking difficult. Finally his mouth was able to for some semblance of speech.

"Where-."

Victor's eyes tried to open but they seemed to be sealed shut. He was cold, overly so where ever he was, which with his eyes being held shut he was unable to look and see. He realized then that his head was laying on something soft. He shifted his head and his neck cracked which sent a sharp pain down his spine and he winced slightly. Warmth began to fill his hands and feet as he wiggled his fingers and toes to try and get some feeling back into his limbs.

Muffled voices in the distance began to come to him alerting him to his returning hearing. The voices weren't really clear, instead they sounded low and far away with a high pitched whiny undertone. He could also hear low music from what sounded like a piano and a bass.

His senses all came rushing back to him and he felt his clothes being tugged at. His eyelids finally opened and he was able to get a look at the people that were talking.

"By joe! Looks like we got us a breather, fellows!" A man exclaimed.

Victor glanced at the man, but he looked a bit off to him. Instead of having peachy skin, he had light blue overtones all across his face and what appeared to be a tree branch sticking out of his neck. A tiny hand began to poke at his sides, making Victor giggle a bit.

"He's still soft!" The boy who was poking at him shouted to the room. Victor put his elbow down on the ground to stop the poking and turned his head, right toward a woman and his stomach churned as he stared into the eyes of a corpse.

"Are you alright?" The woman asked, her bony hand reaching to rest on Victor's neck. Victor pushed her skeletal arm away and grasped for anything behind him, grabbing the edge of a counter to help himself stand. He slowly looked around the room, taking in all the blue and skeletal faces around him. "A toast then!" A voice from afar said. Victor looked around to see a dwarf dressed like a captain with a sword protruding from his rib cage.

"To the newlyweds!" The dwarf shouted, downing the rest of whatever was in the cup he held. Victor's eyes widened and looked at the corpse in her torn up wedding dress.

"Newlyweds?" Victor asked, shock coloring his voice.

"Ah yes, in the woods you said your vows so- "The corpse began twiddling her bone finger with a gold ring on it. "-perfectly" She finished grasping Victor's arm.

"I did?" Victor asked, more to himself than anyone else. He glanced around the room and he tried to remember what he had said, nodding his head when he remembered. "I did!" He shouted beginning to bang his head on the bar counter. Gasps filled the room as Victor knocked his head on the shiny wooden counter over and over again. "Wake up, wake up, wake up!" He exclaimed on every bang of his head on wood.

"Bonjour!" A voice exclaimed from the counter. A head resting on a pile of trotting cockroaches began to approach Victor's now resting head. "My name is Paul, I will be hosting your wedding feast!" Paul exclaimed. A thick French accent present when he spoke.

Victor began to breathe heavily, breaths that seemed to echo through his own head as he took them. His struggle for air was meant to try and slow his heart rate down but it didn't work, all it did was make him slightly dizzy and made his already foggy thoughts worse. Victor's feet began to shuffle backwards and caused him to bump into several skeletons and corpses as he did he landed against another countertop, right next to the dwarf captain. Taking a quick look behind him, he grabbed the handle of the sword sticking out of the short little man's chest. His first attempt to the pull the sword out of the captain failed, instead the dwarf became a weapon himself. Victor lifted the handle pulling the dwarf along with it and pointed the blade at the sea of dead folk around him.

"Alright everyone, just listen! I need some questions and need them now!" Victor shouted.

"Answers, I think you mean answers." The dwarf reminded. "Ah yes thank you. Now I need some answers! Who are you?" Victor exclaimed pointing the blade at the corpse bride.

"Well… that's kind of a long story." The dead woman explained.

At first there was a long pause, everyone absolutely silent, Victor still holding the dwarf and his sword. Out of the sea of blue corpses, there came a voice from against the far wall.

"But what a story it is! A tragic tale of romance, passion and a murder most foul." A skeleton with one eye said. Victor raised an eyebrow, drawing in deep breaths as chatter rang through the crowd. "This is going to be good." The dwarf stated, still dangling from his blade. Victor, who was starting to go into shock, dropped the sword he held.

"Hit it boys." The skeleton demanded. Victor watched as three skeletons lined up and turned themselves into musical instruments. One used his skull as a drum, the middle skeleton was used by the one eyed skeleton as a xylophone and the last one a drum as well. Victor's eyes traced the one eyed skeleton to the piano, hearing a sudden harmony of a piano skeleton playing a verse.

"HEY! Give me a listen, you corpses of cheer, least those of you who still got a ear! I'll tell you a story make a skeleton cry, of our own judiciously lovely corpse bride!" The one eyed skeleton sang.

A group of hands pushed Victor along the spotlight and into the corpse's bride's arms. Her crooked smile made Victor shiver and she put an arm around him, engulfing him with no space in-between them. The skeletons on the stage made cheers of joy and sounds that made Victor feel even more creeped out. Then the three skeletons began to sing and so did the crowd all together in harmony.

"Die, die we all pass away, we don't wear a frown cause it's really okay. You might try n hide and you might try n pray, but we all end up in the remains of the day!" Everyone sang.

Victor and the corpse bride took over the center of the room and she locked hands with him. He looked at her face, into her eyes, panic setting in once again as the one eyed skeleton sang on.

"Well! Our girl was a beauty known for miles around, till a mysterious stranger came to town. He was plenty good looking, but down on his cash. And our poor little baby, she fell hard and fast, but her daddy said no, she just couldn't cope. So our lovers came up with a plan to elope!" The one eyed skeleton sang. Victor and the corpse bride began to dance together, not of Victor's free will but rather the dead woman's desire. The three skeleton instruments repeated the previous verse, alongside with all the corpses watching with their dead eyes.

"Die, die we all pass away, we don't wear a frown cause it's really okay. You might try to hide and you might try n pray but we all end up in the remains of the day!" The crowd of corpses sang in unison. The one eyed skeleton broke the bond between Victor and the corpse bride and Victor couldn't help but feel relieved. His fright resurfaced as the one eyed skeletons eye began to roll through his skull. Victor's sight began to blur and he began to feel numb as he watched. The room went dark and Victor was spun around, confusing him even more, the sound of bells jingling sounding off around him.

"OH, THAT'S RIGHT!" The one eyed skeleton shouted from the now greenlit stage. Victor was pulled onto the stage by a random skeleton and he stood helpless not knowing what to do. He watched the instrumental horror show of the one eyed skeleton with a bowler hat, play each individual skeleton like they were actually instruments of music that they were trying to mimic.

"Come on Chance, TAKE IT!" The one eyed skeleton demanded. A skeleton came out from behind Victor and it looked as though he had a leg bone guitar. Shivers traveled down Victor's spine as one eye approached him and spun him in circles a few times.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah YYYEAAAHHH!" The skeleton shouted as he pulled Victor back and forth. His devious laugh made Victor's skin crawl as he was pulled along by two other skeletons. The one eyed skeleton then turned his attention toward the crowd and the music got louder.

"YEAH! So they conjured up a plan to meet late at night, they told not a soul kept the whole thing tight!" One eye sang pulling the corpse bride up onto the stage. "Now her mother's dress fit like a glove, you don't need much when you're really in love." he continued, lifting the bottom of her dress over his bowler hat, almost like a veil.

"Except for a few things or so I'm told, like the family jewels and a satchel of gold!" Victor glanced at the wall behind the singing skeleton and noticed shadows moving to the song's lyrics, appearing to depict a woman under a tree.

"Then next to the graveyard by the old oak tree, on a dark foggy night and a

Quarter to three! She was ready to go, but where was he…?" A dark overtone voice came from behind Victor making him jump out of his own skin. "And then?"

"She waited…" The one eyed skeleton continued. "…And then? Another voice came from behind Victor. "…There in the shadows, was it a man? The one eyed skeleton dramatized. "… And then?" Yet another voice creeped from behind Victor's already shaking body. "…Her little heartbeat so loud." The one eyed skeleton sang while gripping the inner part of his ribcage. "… And then?" A fourth voice asked from behind Victor. "…And then baby… everything… BLACK." The one eyed skeleton said allowing the lights to fade from the stage. Just when Victor thought that the nightmare was over, the piano began to play once more and the one eyed skeleton laid on top of the piano, still singing.

"Now when she opened her eyes she was dead as dust, her jewels were missing and her heart was bust. So she made a vow lying under that tree that she'd wait for her true love to come set her free…" The one eyed skeleton sang along with the ever growing bellow of the corpses voices behind Victor. As he tried to make an exit, hands gripped his shoulders and a pair of boney fingers pushed his backside toward the corpse bride. She caught him halfway and began spinning around. Victor's insides began to roll as he noticed her growing smile and her giggles.

"When out of BLUE comes this groovy young man, who vows to be forever by her side! And that's the story, of, our, corpse BRIDE!" The one eyed skeleton practically screamed into the air as the corpse bride spun Victor around. Victor noticed an opening from her right arm and he was released into the crowd of corpses. Hands pushed back on him, back toward the bride and then they went back to clapping and chanting. Victor swung his arm up and down, trying to get the arm to disengage from his own. The skeletal arm flung in the air and he looked back toward the one eyed skeleton still holding the same note from the final verse. He looked around at everybody else and began to mimic the corpses, hoping it would provide him with an escape. He swung to the side and he dashed out of the room and out into a lowly lit street. His eyes flashed around the area, his ears still catching the sounds from inside. He looked up at a twirling sign posted on the building. BONEJANGLES: Bar and Welcoming Center. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out what to do next. Just then, he heard his name being called by a sweet voice.

"Victor!" The voice called from within the bar. "Uh-no! It's her." Victor exclaimed and began to run. A pain shot through his chest and he halted against the nearest wall he could find. His right hand plastered to his chest and his breathing was shallow and weak. His heartbeat began to increase and every nerve in his entire body began to tingle almost painfully.

"Victor! Where have you gone darling?" The voice grew louder as he saw a veil end fly into the air. His eyes widened and he sucked in a breath trying as hard as he could to work through the sharp pain he was feeling. It shot through his insides and there was nothing else that Victor could do besides take in a heavy breath before each stride. He looked behind him and notice the torn up wedding dress slowly appear out of the bar, then the blue pallor of the corpse bride appeared with it.

"This can't be happening!" Victor huffed trying to outrun the nightmare behind him.

His legs clenched at the pain now spreading through his body, but somehow he kept running, past little shops and coffins that he didn't bother looking at. He tried to ignore the corpses walking in front of him and he forced himself not to glance at the bones strewed through the alleyways. 'I'm in hell! How could this- 'Victor's thoughts raced at the sound of his heart punching against his rib cage.

Victor came to a full stop in front of a well as his throat began to feel warm.

He covered his mouth and coughed into his hand. He tasted blood. He looked down at his hand and what he saw there made him feel faint. In his cupped palm was a smear of blood that he had just coughed up. "What is happening to me?" Victor asked aloud, his voice rasping. "Victor! Is that you darling?" The bride asked from a far. Victor spun around to see that the corpse bride had nearly made it to him. His heart sank and the feeling of fear creeped up his spine. He went to run around the well he was standing against but was stopped once again by that awful, blistering pain in his chest. His hands grasped his shirt and he wheezed and coughed trying to fight against it. "Victor?" The corpse bride called from behind him again, this time closer than before.

Victor whipped his head around and saw the pale, blue faced nightmare of a bride

Standing before him. He tried to run again but stumbled over his own feet, falling and hitting the ground hard. He yelped, backing toward a wall while still on the ground, his hand plastered against his chest.

"There you are silly!" The corpse exclaimed with a smile. "Please, I-I didn't mean to d-disturb your rest! P-please just let me go." Victor stuttered out, fear coloring his voice.

The corpse bride seemed to find this funny and giggled, holding her skeleton hand in

Front of her cold lips. Her heels clacked and her head tilted as she approached him. Victor's hands pushed and scraped at the ground as he pushed himself up the wall, only to find that he couldn't find the strength to do so. The corpse knelt down in front of Victor and giggles as she looked into his eyes, and he looked into hers. Victor tried to look away from the death bound creature, he glanced back at her, into her eyes. He was expecting to see pure darkness, pure hatred and most of all death, but all Victor Van Dort saw in the bride's face was dark brown eyes that reflected his own fear stricken face back at him. She giggled some more and put her hands on Victor's cheeks, making him blush profusely. Her lips collided with Victor's and his eyes widened at the contact. His hands twitched at the feeling of cold winter's day erupting in his mouth and as he began to stir, so he began to relax. All he could do was close his eyes and for a moment no fear clouded his thoughts. The kiss came to a stop and she released him, still and he saw that she was blushing as well. Victor rested his head back against the wall, his heart slowing to a stop.

AUTHOR'S NOTE – Once again, sorry for the longer wait for this update but like I said, I've been dealing with other things. I promise Chapter 5 is coming along with Chapter 6! Keep on reviewing, keep on liking this fanfiction and please keep reading. Oh and guys, if you would when you review please take a moment to comment about the writing style and the choice of words in the fanfic, because my reviser is doing an amazing job so please make sure to give her the support you've been giving me :D. Review, Like, Follow, Keep reading and have a terrific day!


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